Platform(s) & Release date(s)

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (ファイアーエムブレム 聖戦の系譜 Faiā Emuburemu: Seisen no Keifu), is a Japanese Super Famicom tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It was released on May 14, 1996 in Japan. It is the fourth title in the Fire Emblem series, the second Fire Emblem title for the Super Famicom, and the last game produced by the late Gunpei Yokoi. It was released on the Japanese Virtual Console service on January 30, 2007. The game was originally to be titled as Fire Emblem: Light Inheritors.

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Instead of conquering just one castle per chapter, the player must capture several. Also, the player will have a castle in their possession at the start of each chapter that must not be conquered by the enemy. In allied castles, the player can shop, fight in the arena, store items, and repair weapons (see below). The starting castle is the only place in which the player can promote characters.

There is no limit on how many player characters can be deployed; this is balanced by the player receiving fewer controllable units than in other games in the series.

Unique to Genealogy of the Holy War is the fact that the game is divided into two distinct generations of characters with two unique story arcs, in a similar fashion to Book 1 and 2 of Mystery of the Emblem. However, unlike the Book system of Mystery, stats and character pairings in the first Generation directly influence the characters in the Second, and the Second Generation cannot be played immediately at the start of the game: either Generation 1 must be completed or a Save file or state of a game at Chapter 6 must be used. The events of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 take place between Chapters 5 and 6, the end of the First Generation and the start of the second, spanning the year before Chapter 6.

Villages cannot be destroyed by enemy units in one turn. Enemies can only destroy a portion of a village each turn; however, the more the player allows an enemy to tear down a village, the less gold will be rewarded for rescuing it. An intact village gives 5000 gold, and for every turn the village sustains damage the reward is lowered by 500. Also, some villages might have items to give or stats boost to whoever is sent to that village.

Characters do not die when they have lost an arena battle; instead, they remain alive at 1 hit point. There are only seven arena opponents to fight for each character per chapter, as opposed to infinite opponents in other Fire Emblem games. Also, the arena opponents are predetermined for each level and are always the same, though some of them are different in case the character fighting in the Arena cannot fight at close range (for instance, if he is an Archer or Bow Knight).

Genealogy of the Holy War is the second Fire Emblem game where the player does not need items to promote a character: the player must reach Level 20 and then return to the home castle of the chapter in order to receive class promotion. Also, rather than being reverted to Level 1, the character will remain at his/her current level and can level up to Level 30.

It is possible to bring back dead units by using the Valkyrie Staff; however, it breaks after only one use, after which it must be repaired for 30,000 gold. If a potential mother dies or does not have a lover in the first generation, Substitute Characters will take the place of the children of the mother who did not have any.

Breaking a weapon by wearing out its durability is not an inevitability. By visiting repair shops in castles under the player's control, money can be spent to restore a used weapon before it breaks instead of having to keep a stockpile of spares.

Each individual character in this game has its own money. The only units who can give money to others are thieves and units who are in love (see below).

Characters cannot trade weapons and items or give them to each other. The only way to "give" something to another character is to sell the item or weapon to the pawn shop and have another character buy it for a higher price, therefore losing money in the process of "trading" the item.

The characters in the first half of the game can fall in love. A pair of characters require a certain amount of Lover points to become Lovers. Characters will build Lover points automatically, but they will gain more if the player ends the turn with both characters adjacent to one another, and certain pairs have unique conversations at set points in the game, which give a large amount of Lover points. When two characters are paired, and if the mother survives until a point in Chapter 5, the two parents will pass their weapons and skills on to their children. However, weapons will only be inherited if the child can use it in their first class, unless it is a Holy Weapon, which is always inherited, and only the parents' personal skills are inherited. The children then grow up to become playable units in the second half of the game. The parents also pass on their holy blood and their stat growths, giving the player some manner of control over their units' growth rates. If some of the female player characters in Sigurd's tale besides Ethlyn or Deirdre die or do not fall in love by the end of Chapter 5, substitute player characters appear in their children's place. The children can also fall in love, giving them random criticals when they stand next to their respective lovers (which is also possible in the first generation).

Genealogy of the Holy War is the first installment of the Fire Emblem series to implement the weapon triangle, a system with the same basics as rock-paper-scissors. The weapon triangle is that swords beat axes, axes beat lances, and lances beat swords. This system has thus become the basis for combat in all following games in the series.

Genealogy of the Holy War is the first installment of the Fire Emblem series to assign special skills to individual characters. Characters may also gain skills by belonging to a certain class. Skills may be activated by command on the field, activated automatically under certain conditions, or activated by chance. If characters in the first half of the game fall in love, they will pass on their individual skills to their children in the second half of Genealogy of the Holy War. This skill system is also used in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, and Fire Emblem Awakening. A limited version of this system, where skill is assigned only by unit class, is found in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Genealogy of the Holy War takes place in the continent of Jugdral (pronounced YOOG-drahl and based on the Norse mythological name Yggdrasil). It is composed of eight kingdoms: the Kingdom of Grannvale, the Kingdom of Verdane, Miletos District, the Manster District, the Kingdom of Thracia, the Lords' Dominion of Agustria, the Kingdom of Silesse, Yied Desert, and the Kingdom of Isaach. They were founded by the 12 crusaders: Baldur, Ulir, Tordo, Fala, Neir, Blaggi, Heim, Noba, Dain, Hezul, Sety, and Odo.

The prologue of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War begins with Prince Kurth, the son of King Azmur, making the decision for the Grannvaleian army to subdue the Kingdom of Isaach, in response to an invasion of Darna by barbarians of Rivough, a dukedom of Isaach. This was an unforeseen occurrence due to the kingdoms of Grannvale and Isaach being at peace for many years.

Lord Sigurd of Chalphy remains in Chalphy castle while his father Vylon was away fighting in Isaach alongside Kurth and Ring of Jungby. He believed he had nothing to fear, because there were no invasions or threats from the other countries in the continent of Jugdral; unfortunately, Sigurd's assumption was proven incorrect.

Prince Gandolf of Verdane, and his army invade Grannvale, seizing Jungby Castle, which is the closest castle to the Grannvale-Verdane boundary. Princess Adean, alongside only a few knights that stayed at the castle to protect her, were at Jungby Castle. The Jungby knights were defeated by Gandolf and his army, except for Midayle, the strongest of all Jungby archers, though (despite his skill) he was defeated by Gandolf himself as well. Shortly thereafter, Gandolf left Grannvale for Verdane and took Adean as his hostage, intending to force her to marry him.

Sigurd was informed about what has just happened at Jungby and decided to gather the remaining Chalphy knights (Noish, Alec, and Arden), to travel to the Kingdom of Verdane to rescue Adean. While on the road to Jungby Castle, Sigurd is joined first by Azel of Velthomer, who snuck out of Belhalla Castle and dragged Lex of Dozel into joining Sigurd, and then by his sister Ethlyn, her husband (Sigurd's brother-in-law and best friend) Quan of Leonster and their loyal and most valuable knight, Finn.

Sigurd first met Quan at the Royal Academy of Belhalla, alongside Eldigan of Nordion, a general of the Kingdom of Agustria. Quan says that he is always with Sigurd, especially in times of war. All together, they battle Dimagio, who was left by Gandolf and was guarding Jungby Castle, and retake Jungby. There, Sigurd finds Midayle alive and recuperating. He tries to make Midayle rest, but instead, Midayle joins Sigurd's conquest to rescue Adean.

Arvis of Velthomer intercepts Sigurd, who is now on the road to Evans Castle, which is officially located in the Kingdom of Verdane, and gives him the Silver Sword from King Azmur. He also tells Sigurd to look after his half-brother Azel (Arvis and Azel have different mothers; Azel's mother was a servant of Arvis's mother Cigyun).

In Evans Castle, Sigurd's armies defeat Gerald, but no trace of Adean was found in the castle. Lord Filat, King Azmur's messenger, arrives to Evans Castle to inform that Sigurd has been entitled "Holy Knight of Grannvale" and orders Sigurd's forces to go deeper into the Kingdom of Verdane.

Adean, whom Sigurd and Oifey failed to find in Jungby Castle, had already been taken by Gandolf into the Kingdom of Verdane, to Marpha Castle.

King Batou of Verdane was a pacifist. Until he took the throne, the Kingdom of Verdane was a nightmarish land, filled with chaos. He brought peace, order, and freedom to Verdane and it seemed likely to last for many years with his three heirs: Gandolf, Kinbois, and Jamke. Matters degenerated after a mysterious magician, Sandima, showed up. Sandima's influence largely caused King Batou to order Verdane's invasion of Grannvale, and the nation grew more and more aggressive. Gandolf and Kinbois lost their hearts and did whatever Sandima wished; only Jamke did not give into Sandima's influence. The Verdanian people became aware of the loss of peace and the kingdom becoming engulfed in the flames of war and wished to have their pacifist king back.

Sigurd and his forces resided in Evans Castle, the north-easternmost castle of Verdane, located on the border of the Kingdoms of Grannvale, Verdane, and Agustria the Lords' Dominion, but officially located in Verdane, with the border of Grannvale to the east and the border of Agustria to the west.

Eldigan came to meet with Lord Sigurd to ask him why he was present in Verdane. Sigurd said that the Verdanian army took Adean hostage with no signs of releasing her and that he was forced to take up arms. After Sigurd talked with Eldigan, Eldigan said that he will watch and protect Evans Castle from Agustrian raids. Therefore, Sigurd and his forces left for Genoa Castle, which is located far to the south of Evans Castle, feeling that his back is under the Nordion army's protection.

Meanwhile, in Marpha Castle, located west of Genoa Castle, Gandolf and Jamke stayed in the castle with the kidnapped Adean. However, Jamke was attracted to Adean and decided to free her, to her surprise. He sent her out of Marpha castle with Dew, a teenage thief whom he caught some days before; Dew agreed with Jamke to convert him and protect Adean until she reached safe haven.

Dew and Adean fled from Marpha Castle and headed to Evans Castle through the deep Verdanian forests. Along the way, they met Sigurd's army, and decided to join them. But immediately after they fled Marpha Castle, Gandolf found out that Adean was missing and sent the Marpha army to hunt down Dew and bring Adean back to Marpha Castle. A division of Sigurd's army that was not heading for Genoa easily crushed this army.

In Genoa Castle, Kinbois felt threatened by Sigurd's army and decided to attack with his own. He was so afraid to leave his castle empty that he forced Ayra, a mercenary whom he just hired (after she fled from her native country, the Kingdom of Isaach, to escape the conflict with Grannvale) to guard Genoa Castle. Ayra was not very willing to do so, but Kinbois threatened to kill his prisoner and Ayra's young nephew, Prince Shanan of Isaach, if she shirks her duty. Ayra reluctantly agreed, but she told Kinbois that if he double-crossed her, she would impale him on a stick. Then, Kinbois and the Genoa army went after Sigurd's army.

After a reunion with Adean, Sigurd's army crushed both the Marpha army and Kinbois and his Genoa army. They went south to Genoa, where they met Ayra, who fought Sigurd et al. alongside the remaining axefighters of Genoa army. Sigurd entered Genoa Castle to rescue Shanan, being very much worried about his paternal aunt Ayra after hearing the boy's tale; he took little Shanan with him and talked to Ayra to convince her to stop fighting.

Seeing that Kinbois was dead and there was no more to fear, Ayra reciprocated Sigurd's trust, and she said that such was the way of the Isaachian warrior. She still viewed Grannvale as her sworn enemy, and Sigurd prayed that Ayra would not turn against him. Thus, she decided to join Sigurd's army.

Shortly thereafter, Quan apologized to Ayra and discussed with her the political situation between the Kingdoms of Isaach and Grannvale. Quan's father, King Calf of Leonster, had a high opinion of Ayra's father, King Mananan, who had recently been assassinated on the Grannvaleian fronts. At the time, Mananan was journeying to Belhalla to explain to Prince Kurth about the situation with Rivough.

Meanwhile, right as Eldigan had expected, Elliot of Heirhein and his army attempts to seize Evans Castle. The border guard informs Eldigan of Elliot's invasion. Eldigan argues with Heirhein, telling Elliot that he is running in direct violation of the Agustrian ruler's orders. He and his army of powerful Cross Knights crushes Elliot's army, sending him back to Heirhein. Feeling Nordion Castle may soon be in further danger, Eldigan and his army leave Evans and return to Nordion.

Sigurd continues to travel deep south into the Verdane and enters Marpha castle, where Adean had been held hostage. Gandolf was present at Marpha castle to fight Sigurd, but only a handful of soldiers remained. Therefore, it did not take very long to subjugate Marpha castle. Prince Jamke was not present at the time of the subjugation, and Adean believes that he came to the city of Verdane to attempt to convince his father Batou one last time to seek peace for Verdane.

As Sigurd walked through Marpha, he helped out a young girl named Deirdre, who had been harassed by some thugs. She knew his name upon seeing him; this was because she had been held hostage by Gandolf as well, and had spoken to Adean. At first sight, Sigurd fell for to the soft-spoken Deirdre, but she fled before he was able to ask her name.

An old man stepped in and informed the confused Sigurd that Deirdre was a maiden of the Spirit Forest, and that she was actually forbidden to associate with anyone outside the forest. He also said that the villagers believe that any man from outside the forest comes too close to her will be greatly cursed. However, Sigurd said that he didn't believe in such legends and that he would attempt to reunite with her.

Meanwhile, Prince Jamke was in Verdane Castle to speak with his father, Batou, about making a peace treaty with Grannvale. His father, still under Sandima's curse, refused to listen. Sandima then ordered Jamke to depart from Verdane Castle with the remainder of the castle's army and attack Sigurd's army. A very disgusted Jamke reluctantly accepted Sandima's orders.

As soon as Jamke left, Sandima assassinated King Batou. Manfroy, Sandima's master and the head of the Lopto Sect, showed up and told Sandima to clean up the mess in the Kingdom of Verdane. He also asked if he has found Cigyun's daughter, whom he needed in order to resurrect the Dark Lord Loptyr. Sandima said that he was still searching for her, and this upset Manfroy, who claimed that Cigyun's son Arvis had been already found, but they now need the daughter...

Prince Jamke was still unhappy about attacking Sigurd's army. At the battlefield in the forest, he reunited with Adean, and Adean told him that Sigurd did not come to Verdane to invade the country, but merely to rescue her. She convinced him that he should listen to his own emotions and do what he believes best. Shortly thereafter, Jamke joined Sigurd's army.

On their way to Verdane Castle, Sigurd's army traversed a deep forest. Deirdre came up to Sigurd, saying that she attempted to forget that she ever met him, but that could only make her more miserable. Sigurd told her loved her back, and that he didn't believe in the legends of the Spirit Forest.

Deirdre joins Sigurd's army as they continue northward to Verdane Castle. Sandima had a lethal dark spell called "Fenrir", able to attack at long range; Deirdre, however, used her Silence Staff to disable Sandima's magic.

As Sigurd subjugated the castle, they found a lethally injured King Batou. In his last words, King Batou told Sigurd that the evil spreading across the continent of Jugdral is the work of the Lopto Sect, a dark sect bent on destroying everything that is good and on accelerating the resurrection of the Dark Lord Loptyr. Afterwards, Sigurd and his army returned to Evans Castle, and he married Deirdre.

King Imuka was mysteriously assassinated. Sigurd receives orders from Belhalla to resume possession of Evans Castle. There, he marries Deirdre. Some months later, Eldigan goes to Agusty Castle to tell King Chagall how cruel war is and how burdensome it is on the citizenry. Chagall casts Eldigan into the Agusty dungeon, accusing Eldigan of making him appear foolish. Then Manfroy arrives, telling him they need the children of Cigyun to resurrect the Dark Lord Loptyr. They already have the son (Arvis), but they need the daughter. Chagall also has plans to invade Grannvale.

Meanwhile, in Nordion, Raquesis and her guardian Eve receive word that Eldigan was incarcerated in Agusty. Eldigan left three cross paladins Eve, Eva, and Alva to protect his sister. Eve says that if Heirhein's army finds out that Eldigan is apprehended, they would attack Nordion without warning. In Anphony Castle, Macbeth believes they have a free reign now that Chagall has taken the throne. He is excited Heirhein's army has taken up arms, and deploys thieves to strip the villages in the central Agustria forest near Mackily Castle of all their valuables.

In Evans Castle, Sigurd receives word that Eldigan is captured, and tells Deirdre that he is heading for Nordion. Deirdre insists on fighting alongside him. At the arena, Holyn is beaten by a member of the army, most likely Ayra. Money was his motivator for being a gladiator but felt empty after his only loss at the arena. He says that Ayra was not in the arena for the money and decides to join Sigurd's army, saying that he wants to fight for a greater cause.

A division of the Heirhein army, led by Boldor and his son Elliot, attacks Nordion and attempts to capture Raquesis. However, Sigurd and the mounted members of his army rescue and recruit Raquesis. Sigurd tells Raquesis that King Azmur approves of the Grannvaleian invasion of Agustria and that Azmur is aware of the assassination of King Imuka as well as Chagall's plans to invade Grannvale. Elliot's last words are "Why do things always go Eldigan's way?". Sigurd's army moves on to kill the remainder of the Heirhein army, including Boldor's henchman Phillip. After Sigurd conquers Heirhein, Chagall goes to Anphony and informs Macbeth, saying that Macbeth's avarice cost him Heirhein. Meanwhile, Lewyn and Sylvia receive word that Macbeth sent bandits to destroy the villages in central Agustria. Lewyn intervenes and saves the villages, as Sylvia dances to guide him.

Shortly after Sigurd conquers Anphony, Filat arrives and tells Sigurd there are rumors going around in the Royal Court of Belhalla that Sigurd, Quan, and Eldigan are conspiring against Prince Kurth of Belhalla, and that this is why Sigurd hides Shanan the Prince of Isaac. Filat tells about the late Victor. Victor was the Duke of Velthomer and the father of Arvis and Azel. He was a reputed womanizer and had several lovers.

At Mackily Castle, a dark mage announces the assassination of Prince Kurth. Manfroy says that it is starting to get interesting. They are still looking for Cigyun's daughter. Ferry comes to Agustria to take Lewyn back to Silesia, and Chagall tells her that Lewyn is a prisoner in Evans Castle. Ferry and her squad go to Evans Castle, but Lewyn arrives and convinces her to join Sigurd's army. Sigurd's army heads to Mackily Castle and kills Clement.

After Sigurd subdues Mackily Castle, Chagall sends Zayn and his army after Sigurd's army. Raquesis tells Chagall he is not her king and wounds him with her lances. Afterwards, Eve, Eva, and Alva return to Nordion Castle. It is six months before the next chapter begins.

Six months have passed since the previous chapter. The leadership that they have been trusted with was broken all too soon. According to the introductory narration, this chapter would well change the history of Jugdral.

Eldigan and his crossknights are stationed in Silvail Castle. The Orgahill pirates start to raid the villages near Madino Castle. At Agusty Castle, Seliph is born. This time, Deirdre cannot leave the castle, and Shanan is with her and Seliph.

The Orgahill pirates start to raid the villages of northern Agustria. By the end of the battle, Sigurd seizes Madino, he meets Claud of Edda and Tailto of Freege. Claud suspects that Sigurd's father Vylon is accused of assassinating Prince Kurth.

Meanwhile, Deirdre leaves Agusty Castle, leaving Seliph in Shanan's care, attempting to meet up with Sigurd. Before she could reach Sigurd at Madino Castle, Manfroy appears before her, wipes Deirdre's mind, captures her, and leaves her for Arvis to find in order to resurrect the dark dragon lord Loptyr.

Eldigan is forced by Chagall to fight against his will and betray Sigurd. He leads the Silvail cross-knight army against Sigurd's army. Raquesis comes to Eldigan and convinces him that betrayal is not the way of a knight. He gives her the Earth Sword as a remembrance of him. Afterwards, Eldigan returns to Silvail, but he is publicly decapitated by the Silvail guardsmen under Chagall's orders. Raquesis was devastated.

Travant arrives at Silvail, and Chagall hires the Thracianmercenary army in an attempt to wipe out Sigurd's army. However, the mercenaries fail and Travant flees the country, leaving Chagall to be defeated once and for all, with Holyn finishing him off and winning the Silver Blade from him.

Shortly after Sigurd conquers Silvail, Prince Shanan, carrying baby Seliph, comes to Sigurd at Silvail and informs him of Deirdre's fate. At Madino, Ethlyn gives Quan the Gáe Bolg. However, Quan gets to use it only for a short time.

Briggid joins Sigurd's army, and flees from pirates until a division of Sigurd's army fights them off. Adean meets Brigid for the first time since childhood and gives Briggid the Holy Bow Yewfelle, which she has kept for her.

Claud talks with Sigurd and tells that King Mananan, father of Ayra and grandfather of her nephew Prince Shanan, was assassinated by none other than Tailto's father Duke Reptor when journeying to tell the truth about the siege on Darna, and hopes that Sigurd would clear his name at the time of Chapter 5.

After Sigurd conquers Orgahil, Langobalt and his army march to Agusty Castle, and Sigurd is deemed a traitor to Grannvale. Ferry's sister Mahnya arrives at Orgahill and takes Sigurd and his army to Silessa.

Sigurd and his army arrive with Mahnya to Silesse, a country covered with snow. They arrive at Sailane Castle. Ferry and Lewyn are suspicious of the skirmish there, and Silesse is engulfed in the flames of warfare.

Quan, Ethlyn, and Finn leave Sigurd and return to their home kingdom Manster. Adean professes her love to someone at this point.

Lewyn's uncles Maios and Daccar protest the idea of him ascending to the Silessean throne. Silesse then falls into civil war. A Loput sectarian marches with a wind mage brigade, while Deet'var travels with her pegasus knight brigade.

Soon after conquering Thove castle and killing Maios, Daccar, another one of Lewyn's uncles, summons Pamela to launch an attack onto Silesse Castle and hold its Queen as a hostage. However, Mahnya, the older sister of Ferry, gathers her brigade to counter-attack the upcoming attack from Pamela. Andorey, the brother of Adean and Briggid and the father of Scopio, comes with his army of archer knights, and kills off Mahnya and her pegasus knights. The player can do nothing to prevent Mahnya's death, which sends Lewyn and Ferry into borderline despair.

Silesse Castle is soon taken over by Daccar. Lewyn and Ferry then mourn Mahnya, and immediately thereafter, Andorey and his army return to Grannvale. Queen Rahna orders the people of Silesse Castle town to flee to the mountains near Sailane. These civilians are then rescued by a division of Sigurd's army.

After Sigurd retakes Silesse Castle from Daccar, Lewyn talks with his mother Rahna and then obtains the holy scroll Forseti. Meanwhile, Daccar hires an all-female mercenary group led by SwordmasterReimia. After her army is crushed by a division of Sigurd's army, Reimia is then killed by Ayra. After Sigurd seizes Zaxon, they stay for several months in the castle, with their impending fate to come after the showdown ahead.

Things are getting worse and worse for Sigurd and his friends, so he decides that it is time to resolve everything. He and others, now in Zaxon castle, go stop Langobalt, Lex's father, and the other remaining Dukes. Vylon has travelled there too in order to give Sigurd the Holy weapon of Baldur, the Tyrfing. At the moment Langobalt falls, Sigurd conquers Lubeck Castle. Shanan and Oifey flee with Seliph, along with several other children of the army, to Tirnanog. Ayra informs Sigurd that she has finished fulfilling her promise to her late brother Mariccle, and she plans to stay with Sigurd (at least until the Battle of Belhalla). Afterwards, Quan and Ethlyn return form Leonster. Unfortunately the Thracian Dragon Knights have followed them, and even with the Gáe Bolg in Quan's hands, the player can do nothing to prevent their deaths. Even if the player used cheat devices to spare them, as soon as the player takes the next castle, Quan and Ethlyn will be presumed dead and will disappear from the map. This event is mentioned in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, including the in-game synopsis. After this event, Travant takes Altena and the Gáe Bolg and returns to Thracia. The other members of the Thracian army get slain by Sigurd's army. After he conquers Phinora, Sigurd hears news about the deaths of Quan and Ethlyn. Then his army ventures across the Yied Desert. Reptor's army stands still until Sigurd's army arrives to attack range. Once that happens, the Velthomer army turns against Reptor. The player may use Ferry as the bait to get Reptor's army to move early. Once Reptor is defeated, then the battle is over.

Arvis summons Sigurd and his army to perform an assumed victory celebration. However, the Battle of Belhalla (aka the Belhalla Massacre or the Belhalla Incident) commences. Sigurd meets his destiny, falling into Arvis's trap. As he is incinerated by Arvis's Valflame, the picture turns black and white, beginning the intermission. The casualties in the Belhalla Incident are unclear. The event is discussed in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, and that game confirms some of the survivors. Thracia 776 confirms that Adean, Briggid, Ferry, Raquesis, Tailto, and Sylvia survived. It does not say about Ayra's fate on the Battle of Belhalla. After the Battle of Belhella, Arvis traveled to the Spirit Forest to investigate Deirdre's past and discovered that she was in fact his sister. [1] His feelings for her didn't change and he simply tried his best to not let her know.

Adean retired to Tirnanog Castle sanctuary and conducted church services. She helped raise Seliph, Delmud/Tristan, Ulster/Roddlevan, Larcei/Radney, and her own children Lester and Lana. It is rumored that Briggid became Eyvel. Ferry returned to Silesia and becomes queen after Rahna's death, but by the time of Seliph's tale, she died of natural causes. Raquesis sent her daughter Nanna for Finn's care in Leonster. She was heading to Isaach in search of her son Delmud, but she was captured by the Lopto Sect and turned into stone. Tailto fled to Silesia and gave birth to Teeny, Arthur's younger sister, and her children were given necklaces. She suffered post-traumatic stress from the Belhalla Incident. She eventually returned to Freege and started crying everyday, unable to withstand the loss of her friends, losing contact with her son Arthur, and she endured abuse from Hilda. Her mind and body could no longer withstand it, and she died of an illness. Sylvia survived the Belhalla Incident, but her whereabouts are unknown. She leaves her children Leen and Corpul in an orphanage located in Darna. Ayra's case involving the Belhalla Incident is very unclear and highly debated. She is presumed dead during the game ending, but many Fire Emblem fans refuse to believe this. However, many Japanese sources differ on her case, and many Fire Emblem fans believe that she is actually still alive at the time of the game's ending and that she retired to the Isaachian countryside tilling her father's fields.

Additionally, Manfroy confronted Lewyn alone and killed him. However, the Dragon God Forseti intervened and possessed Lewyn's body, erasing some of his memories, and laid low for awhile.

With the death of Sigurd, Arvis remained as the sole power of Grannvale and was eventually crowned as Emperor. He successfully created a peaceful regime in Grannvale that lasted for 15 years. He was also blessed with two twin children, Julius and Julia, from Deirdre. However, after 15 years of peace, things started to change. The events of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 begin 16 years after Chapter 5 of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. With the resurrection of Loptyr, the Grannvaleian Empire became an authoritarian regime.

This chapter begins 17 years after the Battle of Belhalla, in the year 777. Arvis is now Emperor of Grannvale and the people live in total oppression. The ruler of Isaach, King Danan, is talking to his general, Harold, about a group of rebels. Harold says that he has found the rebels' hideout and has sent an army to capture and execute them. Meanwhile, at the rebels' hideout, Ulster (Ayra's son) or Roddlevan (His substitute) sees the army and rushes inside to tell his twin sister, Larcei or Roddlevan's sister, Radney. Larcei/Radney wants to fight the army, but Ulster/Roddlevan is hesitant to fight. Seliph comes in and says that Ulster/Roddlevan does want to fight; he is just worried about Seliph. Seliph says to not worry and the three prepare to go to battle. The priestess Lana/Mana wants to come too, but Seliph tells her to stay here. However, he changes his mind when he sees how much she wants to come. At turn three, Oifey, Delmud/Tristan, and Lester/Dimna arrive and join Seliph's cause.

Upon conquering Ganeishire, the group finds Lewyn and Princess Julia, who has lost her memory. Lewyn leaves Julia with Seliph and his companions to attend other matters while King Danan orders his sons Johan and his younger brother Johalva to attack. Neither of them really wants to attack because Larcei fights alongside the rebels. Larcei can convince either one of them to join and have their soldiers as green allies, but the other will get jealous and attack without question. On turn two after conquering Ganeishire, Fee/Femina, a pegasus knight, daughter of Ferry (Fee), and Arthur/Amid, a mage, will arrive near Sophara. Fee/Femina set out looking for her brother, Ced/Hawk, and Arthur/Amid left to look for his sister Teeny/Linda. They both decide to join the rebels and help their cause. The group marches on and defeat King Danan in Rivough. Danan was the son of Langobalt who inherited Major Neir blood. His first son, Burian, also holds this blood, which gives him the ability to use the Holy Axe Helswath. The rebels march on to look for their leader, Prince Shanan.

After Seliph liberates the Kingdom of Isaach from Danan's reign, they begin to cross the Yied Desert from Rivough Castle. Meanwhile, Finn, Leif (son of Quan and Ethlyn), and Nanna/Janne begin to defend Leonster. Fee/Femina flies into Leonster to help them out, while Seliph, Larcei/Radney, and Ulster/Roddlevan meet with Shanan. At the beginning of the second turn, Shanan and Patty (daughter of Briggid) or Daisy join Seliph's liberation army. Patty/Daisy infiltrates Yied Shrine and seizes the Balmung, which was transferred from Isaach Castle after the Isaachian-Grannvaleian War, and gives it to Shanan. Ares (son of Eldigan and Grahnye) also betrays his adopted father Jabarro and their employer, Bramsel, after Leen/Laylea is imprisoned inside of Darna Castle. When Ares meets Seliph, he declares that he will have revenge for Sigurd's supposed murder of Eldigan. Arthur/Amid finally reunites with his long-lost sister, Teeny/Linda, who was raised by Bloom. After showing her his pendant that is identical to hers, she is convinced that they are siblings and defects to Seliph's army, although she is pained by fighting against her family. Once Darna falls and Bramsel is defeated, Ares enters the castle and finds Leen/Laylea. At this time, she joins up with Seliph's army.

The chapter starts with Bloom at Conote still mourning the loss of Alster as a key defensive point, and is determined to take it back and defeat Leonster at all costs. He sends one army, commanded by GeneralMuhammad, to retrieve Alster, and another army commanded by Ovo, a Mage Knight. After they depart, he also sends the Mage trio of Vampa, Fetra, and Eliu, now equipped with leg rings, to assist Ovo's attack on Leonster. Meanwhile, King Travant of Thracia waits in Mease, waiting for the outcome of the battle between Seliph and Bloom's armies, since he desires the Leonster peninsula for his country. Accompanying him are his son Areone, and Altena, the very same Altena who was stolen from Ethlyn's arms at the Battle of Belhalla, now raised as Travant's child, and wielding the Gáe Bolg. Eventually, Seliph and Leif manage to defeat Ovo, Muhammad and the mage trio, and set out for Conote. Bloom then asks the help of Faval/Asaello, Patty's/Daisy's brother and wielder of the Yewfelle (Faval only). Faval/Asaello only agrees to help him if Bloom pays him enough to help the poor. However, Patty/Daisy straightens him up and he joins Seliph's army. The last true obstacle between Seliph and Conote is Ishtar, Bloom's child, the so-called "Goddess of Thunder". She asks her father for Mjolnir so that she can defeat all enemies, and she sets out. Julia even warns Seliph not to attack her, for she is a formidable foe. Even so, Seliph's army manages to defeat Ishtar. However, before Ishtar can be killed, Prince Julius appears and orders her to stay at his side. They teleport away, leaving no formidable protection for Conote. Seliph manages to defeat Bloom and takes possession of Conote. Now, the stage is set so Travant can take easily seize the unguarded territories of Leonster, Conote, and Manster. There is a small resistance led by Ced/Hawk, Fee's/Femina's brother. Ced/Hawk orders the villagers of Manster to flee, for he is not to sure of his victory on Travant's forces alone. Travant then appoints Altena as the commander of Thracia's forces, mainly composed of dragon knights in the attack, but she is hesitant to attack innocent people. Regardless, she still sets out to attack. Travant then leaves Mease, appointing somebody else for the protection of Mease. However, Altena stops at halfway and stays alone in the mountains, questioning her "father's" decision. Without her help, Thracia's army falls to Seliph. Ced/Hawk is so grateful he joins him. If the player paired Ferry and Lewyn, Ced will carry a grudge against Lewyn for leaving his mother alone. Regardless, Seliph defeats the army stationed in Mease. Altena, after seeing the outcome of the battle, decides to retreat into Thracia.

This chapter starts in Thracia, where King Travant has retreated. Protecing him is a massive army commanded by General Hannibal, the "Shield of Thracia", a Dark bishop sent from Grannvale, and Travant himself, worthy of using the Gungnir. Altena reaches the main castle and talks to Travant, wishing for no more bloodshed. However, Travant orders her back to leading a Dragon knight squadron, and with convincing from her "brother" Areone, she sets out to defeat Seliph's army. Meanwhile, General Hannibal ponders the course of the war in a similar fashion to Altena. Travant questions his loyalty, and he demands proof of it: Travant demands Hannibal's adoptive child, Corpul, to be taken to Luthecia as insurance of his loyalty. While all of this is happening, Finn recalls the face of Altena in the last battle, and advises Leif to talk to her, so that he might convince her of joining Seliph's army. The battle starts with Hannibal deploying his army and leaving a subordinate to guard Kapathogia, his castle. Also, Altena rushes to meet Seliph's army in battle. However, Leif encounters her before any casualties may happen, and tells her of her true heritage. Altena decides to question Travant about her heritage; however, Areone attacks her for questioning their father. Hannibal's army poses a tough block for Seliph, but they defeat his army, and they cut off Hannibal's escape route, preventing reinforcements. That gives Seliph a chance to seize Luthecia and free Corpul/Sharlow, who goes immediately to his father to talk to him. Eventually, Hannibal joins you. New threats appear at this point; Musar, with reinforcements from Grannvale, appears in the northwest to aid Grutia. Also, Travant decides to enter the battlefield, not without leaving the Gungnir to Areone. Without the aid of the Gungnir, Travant falls easily. Now, the new King Areone decides to wake Altena up, who was passed out from Areone's blow. Areone tells her that he only faked his attack on her so that she might leave and advises her to join Leif. Not without some regret, Altena leaves the main castle and reaches Seliph to ask him if he wanted her services. Seliph gladly accepts, and brother and sister are together again. Musar falls quickly, and without his reinforcements, Grutia falls even quicker. As a last resort, Areone deploys 3 squadrons of Dragon knights, meant to retake Mease, Kaphatogia and Luthecia. He also goes into the field to guard the road to Thracia, wielding the Gungnir. Areone's defensive prowess poses a threat, but eventually Seliph's army manages to defeat him and his armies. Like Ishtar before him, Julius appears before him and commands him to follow him. They both warp away, leaving the road open for Seliph.

Now Seliph finds himself in Miletos, one of the smallest countries in Jugdral. This province hasn't escaped the tyrannical rule of Grannvale, and child hunts are becoming more and more common. Also, Seliph reflects on the fact that Miletos's northern coast borders the land of his father, Chalphy. However, to get there, Seliph must pass long and ardorous threats. Queen Hilda of Chronos, Ishtar's mother, is the first one, wielding a Bolganone. Next is Ridale riding with an army of knights. Also, some Lopto sectarians are in charge of Rados and Miletos. Julius brings Ishtar to Chronos to gather views on Seliph's army. After Julius leaves, Hilda comments on the attachment Julius shows for Ishtar. Julius also orders to continue with the child hunts. However, some children escape Chronos. Ridale is deployed mainly to deal with the kids rather than face with Seliph. However, both Ridale and Hilda fall, and Chronos and Rados are seized by Seliph. This provokes the northern gate to be unsealed allowing Seliph passage into northern Miletos, and eventually seize Miletos. However, the whole Lopto Sect takes to the field in hopes of destroying Seliph's army. Also, Julius and Ishtar take the field trying to play a game of who takes the first victim. However, if you defeat Julius or Ishtar, both will teleport to safety. Miletos falls to Seliph, allowing him free passage to Chalphy. However, Chalphy is defended by none other than Emperor Arvis himself, wielding the sacred Valflame. Before his battle with Seliph, Arvis sends a priest to lead some captive children to safety. He also gives the priest, Palmark, the Tyrfing, in hopes that Seliph might acquire it. He also talks with Julia, revealing to her that he is her father, and that he regretted letting Julius destroy Deirdre and almost killing her. Julia harbors no ill will towards her father. However, Manfroy appears and demands Julia. Arvis barely has time to give Julia the Circlet of Deirdre, claiming that it will protect her in the future. Manfroy also deploys a squadron of Dark mages to pursue the escaping children. Arvis's army is tough, but eventually Seliph's army manages to break his lines and attack the dark mages. The priest will give then the Tyrfing to Seliph, who then goes to Chalphy to battle Arvis and avenge Sigurd's death. If Seliph defeats Arvis, he can have a conversation with Sigurd and Deirdre, who warn him of the trials ahead. Regardless, Chalphy is captured, and Belhalla is now in sight.

After Seliph reclaimed Chalphy, he had to face the other Dukedoms of Grannvale along with the Prince of Darkness Julius, and Archbishop Manfroy of the Lopto Sect. Meanwhile, Julius finds out that his father, Emperor Arvis, was killed, and Manfroy explains that he was too influenced by the Crusader Fala, would have turned against them eventually, and that Arvis was no longer of use to them. Julius then talks to his sister Julia (who was brought to Velthomer by Manfroy), who says how she misses her brother and that Julius had changed over the past 7 years when Manfroy brought in the Dark tome of Loptyr. She denies that he is her brother. Julius responds to this by saying that he is the Dark Lord Loptyr and that he has been sent to this world to rule it. He then says he will kill Julia because she inherited the blood of Loptyr's mortal enemy, Naga. Manfroy then interrupts and asks to make use of Julia as a means of dominance over the royal family of Heim, to which Julius reluctantly agrees. He then teleports back to Belhalla, giving orders to the Granbellian Dukedoms to engage Seliph's army at Chalphy, while Seliph and his army were making preparations for the final battle. Lewyn explains to Seliph that Julius is the reincarnation of the Dark Lord Loptyr and that he is planning on reviving the Lopto Empire. He also gives background information about BishopGalle and how the Lopto Empire had started and who Loptyr really was.

Seliph prepares to take action on the Dukedom of Edda first, since Edda, under command of Bishop Rodan and a Lopto sectarian, had already deployed their priests and mercenary brigades to battle with Seliph along with several Dark Mages on the cliffs near Chalphy to back them up. Seliph eventually ends up facing all the other Dukedoms as well, with each one being guarded by a Dark Bishop under orders from Julius (possibly as watch guards to ensure the dukedoms follow the Loputo Sect's orders). After conquering Edda (where he and Lewyn have a discussion about the late Duke Claud), Seliph faces the Grauen Ritter along with Duke Burian of Dozel, the eldest son of Danan (whom Seliph's army had killed back at Isaach), who swears to avenge his house. He attacks Chalphy, and the Dozellian guard commanded by Fisher, who attacks Edda, and is eventually defeated despite his possession of the Holy Helswath Axe. Burian was surprised that he was defeated with the Helswath and questions if he was on the right side. When Seliph's forces defeated the Dark Bishop at Dozel and subjugated the castle, Lewyn tells Seliph about who the gods (or dragonkin) are, and how the 12 Crusader lineages were created, along with some information and history about the last Holy War. Lewyn also explains that Julia is Seliph's younger half-sister, and that she was the one who inherited the blood of Naga from the late Empress Deirdre.

After Seliph had conquered Dozel, his armies went west to attack Freege, and he was caught in an ambush between Freege's Gelben Ritter, led by the sinister Duchess Hilda, and Jungby's Beige Ritter, led by Andorey's son, Duke Scopio. When Seliph had defeated both armies (plus the Lopto sectarians at Freege sent from Belhalla) and subjugated Freege, Seliph meets someone by the name of Felipe who explains to him that he was an attendant of Emperor Arvis and that he was ordered to protect the children from the child hunts. He also explains that Princess Ishtar of Freege volunteered to help out with the children secretly. Seliph was surprised by this and realizes that Ishtar is a caring person and that she had helped the children escape from the start. Seliph then asks Lewyn where Julia is. Lewyn thinks that she is either in Velthomer or Belhalla and that Seliph will have to get her himself. After Seliph had captured the House of Freege, Ishtar sets out to deploy the Weissen Ritter, the elite imperial guard of Belhalla, to engage Seliph's army, with assistance from Meng, Maybell, and Bleg, powerful Falcon Knight sisters and descendants of Forseti who were sent from Silesse to assist the Weissen Ritter. Julius questions Ishtar's loyalty, asking why she is so eager to go out into the battle, but Ishtar responds that she is still loyal and loves Julius all the same, and that she "took great pride in being a warlock of Freege". He reluctantly agrees to Ishtar's request in the end, and the Weissen Ritter engages Seliph's army.

Julius then proclaims that it was "time to wrap this up". He gives orders to have Areone's mercenary squad deploy and attack Chalphy (Areone having been rescued by Julius back in Thracia), and orders the twelve Dark Warlords to come out and defend Belhalla. Manfroy subsequently takes the hint, and deploys his elite Dark Mages around Velthomer, Manfroy himself defending the castle, while he sends the hypnotized Julia to attack Seliph.

After a time, Prince Areone of Thracia and his Dragon Knight squadron appear over a lake south of Edda, and start flying towards Chalphy. Altena intercepts them, however, and convinces Areone that he was lost in foolish pride, and he decides to fight for Altena. He and his squad become allied with her. Meanwhile, Seliph and his army engaged and defeated Ishtar, the Falcoknight sisters, and the Weissen Ritter after a long and harsh battle, and then made for Belhalla and Velthomer. On the way, they come in contact with Julia, under Manfroy's trance. Seliph tries to turn her back to normal, but Lewyn comments that she was under a trance, and the only way to undo it was to kill Manfroy. Seliph then charges for Velthomer with his best knights while the rest of his army distract Julia, defend Freege, and ready for an assault on Belhalla. He encounters Manfroy and kills him, subsequently conquering Velthomer. When there, he has a discussion with Lewyn and Felipe, who say that the Naga Tome was placed in a vault by Emperor Arvis, and that only Empress Deirdre's Circlet could open it. Seliph then remembers Julia, and charges towards her. With Manfroy dead, she was able to snap out of her trance, and headed towards Velthomer, where Lewyn waited, and took possession of the Naga tome, the only weapon that could counteract the effects of the Loptyr tome.

With Ishtar and Manfroy dead, and Areone and Julia allied with Seliph's army, Seliph finally attacks the Imperial capital, Belhalla. Though the Dark Warlords put up quite a fight, and Julius gave covering fire with his Meteor spell, the Warlords were defeated, and Seliph and Julia went to attack Belhalla on their own, since no one else could stand up to Julius' abilities. Julius was defeated by the energies of Naga and Seliph's Tyrfing, and Loptyr says his last words to Seliph through Julius, saying that as long as evil lies in men's hearts, he shall always return. Julius dies, and the Dark Dragon Loptyr rises up out of his body and returns to the netherworld, causing all the remnants of the Lopto Empire to die along with Julius.

Seliph then conquers Belhalla, and all the participants in his armies go to their respective homes in Jugdral, their partners and/or relatives going along with them as well. Seliph himself becomes the new ruler of Grannvale and Julia becomes the imperial princess of it. (If Seliph managed to get a partner, his partner becomes queen.) If any house had no one to take over its control, then it is given into subjugation by Belhalla.

Genealogy of the Holy War was the first Fire Emblem game to be featured in the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game. It also has the largest soundtrack ever composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, composed of one hundred and fourteen tracks. Some songs from the game were reused in the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games. Genealogy of the Holy War deviates from traditional Fire Emblem gameplay in some ways. Norse and Irish mythology are the main contributors to names found in the game. The battle animations in this game inspired those in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Genealogy of the Holy War was discussed in Nintendo Power: Volume 87, published around the time of the game's release.

Genealogy of the Holy War came out relatively late in the life of the Super Famicom, being released on May 14, 1996. It has received recognition outside Japan since the sixth generation console era, when Marth and Roy were introduced to gamers outside of Japan as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The exposure of Marth and Roy to foreign gamers led the Fire Emblem series as a whole to gain more attention.

The game has a significant following in North America and Europe through emulation. In the year 2000, J2E Translations started an unofficial English translation project on the game, although the project was discontinued before an initial patch was released. The translation project remained dormant until 2003, when it was picked up by the Fire Emblem forums staff. There are many versions of the fan translation patch circulating across the Internet. The more recent versions of the patch have the main dialogue fully translated into English and also the battle and death scripts translated, but the game's ending dialogue remains untranslated along with certain castle conversations. The versions of the patch since July 2006 use the dialogue font used in the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games.

Since the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, being influenced by the appearance of Marth and Roy as playable characters during the GameCube days, Genealogy of the Holy War has received international recognition and a very positive reception by non-Japanese gamers and has been receiving a growing following in North America and Europe.[1] However, the game is not represented in the Super Smash Bros. series at all. Many Fire Emblem fans nominated the game to be represented in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but came unfulfilled. Some fans believe that one of Ike's costumes is based on Sigurd's outfit. Genealogy of the Holy War is represented to a small extent in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U in the form of musical tracks.

Genealogy of the Holy War was released to the Japanese Virtual Console on January 30, 2007, at a price of 900 Wii Points, never to see international releases. The first four instances of a Japan-only game being released to western Virtual Consoles required no localization, whereas Genealogy of the Holy War and its predecessor Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem do. The strongest example of North American localization on the Virtual Console is Sin and Punishment, a game whose original release was almost entirely in English and required only the options menu and the brief epilogue text to be translated; thus, the possibility of an RPG with thousands of lines of Japanese text receiving a true localization is extremely slim, even with the most optimistic of outlooks.

Genealogy of the Holy War was originally proposed to have some major changes from the final release, but due to development and time constraints they were either changed or dropped. The game was originally announced as Fire Emblem: Light Inheritors, but this name ended up being the name of Chapter 6 of the game. It was originally planned for the game to be divided into three parts, with Seliph's story being the second part. The third part was going to explain the parent killings and incest issues. However, due to time constraints, they had to make do with two parts. This was stated in the interview with Shouzou Kaga (the game's director) in the Fire Emblem: Treasure book. There were also a number of plot, character, and class changes, which are described in more depth here: Pre-Release Changes Overview.